OCR Text |
Show i iff hie i OFF OUR COAST Total of Sinkings Stands at IS; Crew of Pinar del Rio Believe They Saw S "Mother" Ship. TRANSPORT FIGHTS i VITH A SUBMARINE Captain of a Brazilian Ves-d, Ves-d, sel Sees the Battle, but in Sails Away Before Learning Outcome, ih WASHINGTON", June 10. Ormany's I cuhniarinc raiders, which some sixteen c days ago rmulo their first appearance in 1 American waters since the declaration of war. apparently still are raugkig off the e Atlantic coast, though no reports of ad- 1,1 ditional sinkings had been received by the . navy department late tonight to add to i the. official toll of eighteen craft sent to 'l the bottom. lt, The hist, announcement from the depart- ,j merit concerning the operations of the .raiders came last night and told... of the .-inking of the American steamer Pinar del ft to Saturday morning off tiie Virginia capes. The master of a Brazilian steamer, r arriving today at an Atlantic port, said he I had sighted a submarine this morning seventy-five miles off the New Jersey I coast and had seen an American transport np:ii fire on the Li-boat, but at the de-pHrlmeut de-pHrlmeut late tonight it was said that no y confirmation of this encounter had been received. Not Yet Confirmed. Survivors of thfe Pinar del Rio arriving ! t Norfolk said, after they abandoned ii their ship they saw the submarine which I - sank the Uio send down an American sail-ing sail-ing vessel and a schooner, but so, far as H known I heir crews have not yet been 1, landed, and the navy department snid it , had no reports to confirm these state- v menls. "r Observers here were not inclined to iigree with the theory of the liio's sur- i; vivors that the vessel which they saw near the submarine was a "mother" ship. They believed rather that it probably was a freight steamer which the raider had over- j liriuled and kept within range of its guns, i with a view to replenishing its stores at "i leisure before sinking the craft. ; Appearance Doubtful. ! Even if the raiders were accompanied c by a "mother" ship, it was said, the latter vessel would hardly make its appearance ' in the shipping lines where it would be '' In imminent danger of encountering the swift destroyers and the other patrol vig-, vig-, ! orously seeking the U-boats. k j Assuming that the raiders destroyed tha : schooner Edna immediately after they ai-' ai-' 1 rived off the coast, officials estimate that the raiders have been away from their J bnse now about thirty-five days and be- lieve tha t they can remain out some weeks, longer by replenishing their stores r, ii nd supplies from vessels which they sink. |